Eagles film: Cooper DeJean makes impressive plays in coverage in his first start at the nickel spot

Cooper DeJean’s first NFL start was more of a trial by fire than it may have seemed at first.

The second-round rookie had been knocking on the door to take over as the team’s starting slot cornerback considering Avonte Maddox’s early-season struggles. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio explained the amount of walk-throughs the team held instead of full practices in the lead-up to the bye week slowed DeJean’s development behind the scenes. Coming out of the bye, Fangio said he finally decided to plug the rookie in with the first team to let him get up to speed.

“You’ve got to practice, the only way to really get him ready in practice was to put him in there and get him the reps,” Fangio said on Tuesday. “Because, if he’s the backup, you can’t get many reps when reps were at a premium anyway. So, it was just, in my opinion, just time to put him in there and let him get all the preparation and see what he can do.”

» READ MORE: Vic Fangio clarifies that Nick Sirianni did not call a defensive play on Sunday: What he said ‘was inconsequential’

DeJean showed plenty Sunday in his first extended action in nearly a year. The former Iowa standout was sidelined for the end of his college career with a broken leg and fell behind the rookie learning curve because of an offseason hamstring injury that held him out for the start of training camp. Playing 91% of the team’s defensive snaps in the 20-16 win, DeJean finished with six total tackles, a half-sack, and several solid reps in coverage.

To pinpoint his best moments and the plays he’ll need to clean up, let’s review the film:

According to Pro Football Focus, DeJean was targeted four times against the Browns and gave up two catches for just 13 yards on those plays.

DeJean’s highest-leverage target came in the second quarter with Cleveland on the Eagles’ 20-yard line and targeting Jerry Jeudy in the end zone. Jeudy ran a slot fade against DeJean, who ran stride-for-stride with the former first-round pick out of Alabama and squeezed him toward the sideline as the pass sailed just out of his reach.

The Browns also tested DeJean’s ability to hold up in man coverage a few times with jet motions, including one in the third quarter as he followed receiver Elijah Moore across the formation. Moore appeared to be Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s initial read on a vertical route, but DeJean’s coverage forced Watson to extend the play and scramble rather than target Moore working up the sideline before cutting back toward the ball.

DeJean did have some rookie moments, though. He got caught up in middle-field traffic when the Browns ran a mesh concept to free up Jeudy, who dropped Watson’s pass with DeJean scrambling to recover. Had Jeudy caught the pass, it would have been a big play for the Browns’ stagnant offense.

DeJean was also seemingly responsible for Amari Cooper’s 14-yard catch midway through the first quarter. The Eagles were in a four-deep zone coverage — typically called “quarters” — that requires the secondary to pass off deep crossing routes in order to maintain its structure.

The corner slowed down as Cooper crossed his face and entered Reed Blankenship’s apparent coverage area, but Blankenship was late to pick the receiver up because of a vertical route occupying space in front of him. While the exact rules on the play are unclear from an outside perspective, assigning the catch solely to Blankenship ignores DeJean’s role in passing the wideout off too early rather than “latching” onto him.

Overall, DeJean’s first start was relatively solid even with the understandable rookie mistakes. It’s fair to point out he will have more difficult tests against more intricate passing attacks with more offensive firepower than the 32nd-ranked Browns offense, but he’s off to a strong start in the passing game.

Possibly just as important as his work in coverage, DeJean was credible going forward both against the run and as a blitzer.

Fangio used DeJean as a rusher off the edge several times on Sunday, leading to two pressures for the rookie and a half-sack in the first quarter.

Watching the game back, DeJean would likely regret not getting another sack midway through the third quarter on a similar look with the Browns backed up deep in their own territory. He got the initial pressure on Watson, but bounced off the quarterback despite getting a chance at a clean hit coming from the quarterback’s blindside.

The secondary rush got home largely thanks to DeJean’s quick pressure, though, with Milton Williams and Thomas Booker splitting the sack.

Even the two catches DeJean was charged with by PFF weren’t cut-and-dry missed assignments from the rookie. The 3-yard completion to Moore he “conceded” was actually a successful play for the defense considering down and distance largely thanks to his tackling ability.

With the Browns facing first-and-goal from the Eagles’ 8-yard line late in the fourth quarter, Cleveland ran a play-action fake that freed up Moore on a flat route as Watson rolled to his right.

The run fake drew both Bryce Huff and Blankenship into the backfield, leaving DeJean as the lone defender between Moore and the end zone with the Eagles leading by six. Especially considering the Eagles eventually held the Browns to three points after two false-start penalties on that drive, DeJean’s tackle may have saved the game for the Eagles. Not bad for a rookie debut.